GIS, Geomatics, Surveying & Inspection Helikites
Inspections and Monitoring
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Oil and gas pipelines inspections
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Refinery Inspections
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Power Line inspections
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Wind turbine inspections
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Solar energy farm inspections
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Railway & Roads inspections
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Bridge safety inspections
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River & canal inspections
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Structural Safety assessments
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Flooding monitoring
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Erosion monitoring
Surveying
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Buildings
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Bridges
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Railways
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Roads
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Ports
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Building sites
Geomapping
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Asset management
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Tailings assessment
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Ore assessment
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Rockfall Prediction
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Volume calculation
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Environmental monitoring
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Roads, rivers, bridges, canals
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Safety assessments
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Flood mapping
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Waste management
In the mid 1990's, Helikites pioneered the use of digital cameras to produce the world's first practical, low cost, Airborne Geo-Information System. Nick Russell of 'Terradat' was the first surveyor to try Helikite photogrammetry to measure the ground, using aircraft measurement software, accurate to 0.4mm. Then the engineering company Bechtel purchased a system to measure railways. It can very accurately survey 10Km of rail track within two hours while the trains run normally underneath. This is a huge cost saving, as traditional survey methods take days and only be done with the trains stopped. In New Zealand, NIWA started using Helikites for power line surveys and Helikites became mainstream airborne GIS platforms, now used by numerous operators worldwide
Agriculture
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Drought Detection
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Irrigation Leak Detection
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Irrigation Blockage Detection
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Weed Mapping
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Fruit assessment
Research
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Archaeology
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Meteorology
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Ecology
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Zoology
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Botan
Helikites have be used for mapping, archaeology, road surveys, rock-fall monitoring, tailings measurement, river valley erosion, fluvial flow, wave motion, etc.
Helikites can produce excellent multispectral NDVI surveys of crop stress, disease and weed infestation for agriculture and horticulture.
At sea, Helikites are part of the Norwegian airborne emergency oil spill system. In the USA Helikites measured the extent of the Deepwater Horizon oil slick from boats.
Airborne GIS using Helikites is an excellent alternative to using aircraft or UAV's.
Advantages
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Automatic flight in all weathers.
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Steady flying platform reduces camera shake.
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Suitable for every type and make of cameras.
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Deployment directly from a vehicle within seconds.
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No mechanical complexity. Unmatched reliability.
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Capable of very accurate flight profiles.
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Minimal legal flight restrictions. Fly over towns, railways, roads, etc.
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Easy to organise Helikite operations compared to manned aircraft or UAV's.
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No technical knowledge required. Anyone can be flying within minutes.
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No specialised flight training or exams are required to operate Helikites.
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Far safer than UAV's or manned aircraft.
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Helikite fly in winds up to 20m/sec compared to 8m/sec for drones.
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Helikites are about 10 times cheaper to buy and operate than drones.
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Helikites can be transported worldwide in passenger luggage.
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Helikite GIS is more reliable than UAV's or drones.
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Often far more profitable than UAV's, drones, or manned aircraft.
GIS Sensors
Cameras
Helikites can lift almost every type of camera in the world. The Helikite has a unique 'Universal Camera Mount' capable of steadily holding all designs of cameras and pan/tilt gimbals.
Small, handy Helikites can lift cameras with sensors up to 50 Megapixels. Larger Helikites can lift any GIS camera or sensor up to 40Kg. Many cameras have wireless remote controls or internal intervalometers so it is easy for them to take photos when at height.
Examples include:
Canon EOS 5DS (50Mp), Nikon D800 (36Mp) Nikon D5200 (24Mp), Sony NEX 7(24 Mp), Ricoh GR2 Digital (12Mp), Pentax Optio W60 (12Mp), GoPro(12Mp) and many others.
LIDAR
Small LIDAR's designed for UAV use can be fitted on a Helikite. This is far easier, cheaper and safer than using a UAV.
Magnetometers
Helikites have the size to lift large magnetometers and can hover over areas humans cannot occupy such as minefields, mashes, water, or other types of dangerous terrain.
Meterology Sensors
Tethersondes can be lifted on the Helikite or running up the line to produce real-time wind speed profiles, wind direction, humidity etc.
Radio-Relay & Wi-Fi
Surveyors working in remote areas need comms for safety and to send data back to base. Helikites are superb at persistently lifting radio-relays and WiFi systems. The maximum range obtained so far from small Helikites is 60 miles (11,311 square miles). Large Helikites have increased radio range to 100 miles (31,420 square miles).
Helikite GIS Case Studies & Research
GIS Software
Since the 1990's tremendous advances have been made in camera technology and in GIS software.
Now there are numerous excellent mapping, photogrammetery and remote-sensing programs suitable for airborne applications. Ortho-correction, mosaicking and terrain extraction are available from various software developers.
LEICA TRIDICON -
PIX4D MAPPER -
AGISOFT -
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE -
